


A Day Without You (isn't really a day)

by twicebisous



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: F/F, Friends to Lovers, Temporarily Unrequited Love, cameos of other idols too hehe, chaeyu!, mina's failing attempts at being a tsundere
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:03:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28680078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twicebisous/pseuds/twicebisous
Summary: For Dahyun, Mina's her whole world.At least that's what Mina thinks.
Relationships: Kim Dahyun/Myoui Mina
Comments: 15
Kudos: 67





	1. Goodnight

**Author's Note:**

> Mina finds herself thinking about Dahyun a little bit more often than she should.

Mina's day typically follows the same routine:

**[06:30AM]** Wake up to your ringtone of "Dance of the Nutcracker", and get washed up for school.

**[07:00AM]** Prepare and eat breakfast, usually something low in carbs, and high in protein. (This morning it was 2 boiled eggs with bacon and a green smoothie)

**[07:30AM]** Prepare all things needed for school today, exercise books, textbooks, pencil case, maths set, etc.

**[07:40AM]** Remember to text Dahyun to wake up. That girl would sleep through the end of the world if you didn't wake her up yourself.

**[07:45AM]** Get changed for school, the typical grey and white uniform, with a maroon cardigan on top of your polo shirt.

**[08:00AM]** Start the engine of the car, prepare the seats and yourself mentally for this long, exhausting car ride where Dahyun will play SuperBass by Nicki Minaj at least four times before you force her to change it.

**[08:05AM]** Drive out of your gates, lock them, and make your way to Dahyun's house.

**[08:08AM]** Yes, she will look like a mess when she comes out of the door. She'll probably have odd socks, an un-ironed blazer, her hair will look as if she was trampled over by a mob of elephants, and there will be a trail of fallen books behind her(get out of the car to help her pick it up).

**[08:17AM]** Drive to school after an eight minute delay of acting as a lost and found officer. Yeah, Dahyun always forgets something. (Today it was her phone. Poor girl.)

**[08:45AM]** Arrive at school, drop Dahyun off, park the car, and head into class. 

**[16:00PM]** School is finished, clubs are finished. Drag Dahyun away from Jackson and his group of druggies, and bring her home.

**[16:30PM]** Drop Dahyun off at her home, then make your way to your own house. 

**[16:35PM]** Do your homework. At least, try your best at doing it. You'll probably receive a bunch of notifications from Dahyun asking for help, and sending the most random things. (Today it was her song of the day, "How can I love the heartbreak, You're the one I love" by AKMU.)

**[18:00PM]** Dahyun will come by for dinner. Prepare something she can eat (make sure she doesn't get to the food beforehand!)

**[18:23PM]** Dahyun suggests watching a movie. Being the nice friend you are, you agree. It’s the same movie every single day. (Yup, it's The Princess Diaries. The first one, at least. Dahyun has some sort of hatred towards the second.)

**[22:00PM]** She leaves the house. You prepare to go to bed. 

**[22:20PM]** Dahyun texts you goodnight. You answer with a simple "You too", and go to bed.

**[22:45PM]** Day finished. Goodnight.

Mina looks through the word document she made about her daily routine, and sighs, seeing how half of her day consists of Dahyun. Mina counts how much Dahyuns are listed, and it totals up to 11 counts. _Yeah, she wouldn't survive without me._ Mina tells herself, saving the document and closing the laptop. Just as she does so, however, she receives a text from Dahyun. Of course.

**dubu >_<[17:23] **

hi unnie!!! have u finished ur hw?

i finished my daily routine 

and i realised how much time i spend with u

don't u have any other friends?

_Says you._ Mina scoffs, preparing to type on her keyboard. Her thumbs hover over the keypad for a bit, thinking of what to reply with. 

She realises that she doesn't really have any other friends. But she won't tell Dahyun that. 

**minariiiiii[17:28]**

ofc i have friends.

it's just you who's always sticking by me.

Dahyun's reply comes within the next millisecond.

**dubu >_<[17:28]**

unnie....u do know that i literally hang around half of the school, right?

**minariiiiii[17:28]**

your point?

**dubu >_<[17:28]**

nvm. it doesn't matter.

Mina nods, thinking that she has won this one, and she closes her phone to go downstairs.

-

Mina’s been...friends...with Dahyun for as long as she can remember. Their parents just so happened to be business partners, and the girls often met up at each other’s home countries for meetings and as the parents said, ‘getting to know each other’.

Whilst Mina thinks of Dahyun as a an extra hassle that her parents have forced her to be with, she also thinks that the younger girl thinks of her like a saviour. 

_I mean, I do save her bus money everyday._ Mina nods and adds that to her mental list of why Dahyun adores her(or at least why she thinks Dahyun adores her). 

The Japanese girl also remembers how boisterous the younger girl used to be, and she still thinks she hasn’t changed a bit. 

Her charisma, her energy, and her hair is exactly the same as it was when they were just seven year olds. 

For Mina, Dahyun seems like a younger sister.

A bit annoying, a bit funny, but someone she cares about enough to make sure that she doesn’t die while frying eggs.

(That almost happened once.

Dahyun came rushing into Mina’s house, asking for a fire extinguisher. Mina had to fill a bucket of water and run to Dahyun’s smoky house. 

Dahyun got a long lecture about cooking with the gas stove after that.)

Mina’s other acquaintances usually tease her about her relationship with Dahyun, and Mina doesn’t understand how they can see what she can’t.

”At this rate, you’re practically Dubu’s girlfriend, Mina.” Lisa teases, looking over at Dahyun who was talking to the new transfer student. “You cook for her, you clean for her, you drive her to school...”

This earns Lisa knitted eyebrows from Mina.

“On second thought, you sound more like a maid.” Lisa laughs at Mina’s unofficial job which catches the attention of Kang Seulgi. 

“Who’s a maid?” Seulgi looks at the frustrated Mina, who’s a little disappointed that she’s been demoted from a girlfriend to a housemaid. “Mina?” 

More laughter ensues and Lisa and Seulgi continue on making jokes about Mina’s unpaid job on the side.

_I really do all the work for Dahyun...But why?_ Mina scratches her head before Mina ultimately decides to gently slap Lisa’s biceps to get her to stop. Lisa gets the gist and pinches Seulgi, who is sent into a howling fit from the pain. 

Mina’s also the subject of conversation at Dahyun’s table.

At least, that’s what Mina heard through Bambam. 

“There’s never been a time at our lunch table where you haven’t been mentioned.” Bambam seems a bit annoyed, and Mina’s lips turn a little bit upwards. “I think I know more about what you did on Dahyun’s thirteenth birthday than what I did yesterday.” 

A small, stifled laughter comes out of Mina’s lips. 

“Oh, you’re laughing about my group’s pain? Tell your girlfriend to stop if you want to hear her speak again.”

”As if.” Mina simply answers, but a repeated word keeps ringing in her mind. _Girlfriend_.

Why does everyone refer to Dahyun that way?

-

The Princess Diaries is playing on the TV again, and Mina has to pretend to look interested for the sake of making Dahyun happy.

She hates it when Dahyun looks sad. Mina doesn't know why. Maybe it's just because she feels partly responsible for the wellbeing of the sunshine haired girl.

”Unnie?” They both turn to look at each other at the same time. 

"Yes, Hyun?” Mina replies, and Dahyun shuffles closer. 

“Are you tired of this movie?”

_Am I tired? Of course I’m tired! I could literally recall this movie in my dreams!_

But she doesn’t tell Dahyun that.

“No.” Is what she answers with, and Dahyun shrugs, going back to her original position. “Why are you wondering?” _Do you maybe want to change the movie choice next time?_

”No reason.” Dahyun sighs, and the conversation ends there. 

Mina nods and matches the script in her head with whatever Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldo is complaining about this time. 

-

Mina's daily routine was the same again. The same alarm ringtone, the same breakfast, the same clothes, the same annoying girl to pick up, the same college to drop her off to... someone greeting Dahyun with heart eyes...?

She looks as Dahyun giggles with this transfer student. _What was her name again?_ Mina can't remember her name, but it's on the tip of her tongue. _Momo. That's right. Her name is Momo._

Mina doesn't know why she feels a bit jealous that Dahyun is friends with her. _Dahyun is friends with everyone,_ Mina tells herself. _It's just me wanting to have more social interaction that I can intake in two days_. 

She drives off to park her car, and after finally finding a parking spot, she sighs with relief. Without notice, a surprise knock on her window sends her into a frenzy, and she whips her head around to see Sana's face pressed against the window of her car. Rolling the window down, Sana jumps back so her hair isn't caught in the crack of the window.

"You look tired." Sana tells her, and opens the car door to help Mina out. Mina answers with a nod, trying her best to smile back at her. "Well, I know what'll cheer you up!"

Mina gulps. "Please no-"

"I'm going to introduce you to the new transfer student! She's Japanese, just like us two. We might as well form a trio, this is such a rare chance." Sana happily skips along to the college, and leaves Mina to catch up with her after locking her car. The happy older girl continues to ramble on about how fun it is to talk to people she can relate to, and Mina realises that her energy pack for the day has been taken within the five minutes she's been with Sana. _Welp, there goes my battery for the next two days._

Lunch was awkward. Sitting across Momo and Dahyun with Sana continuously rattling on about maths class was awkward. 

Mina sitting there with nothing to relate to was awkward.

"So, Momo, what do you like to do in your free time?" The question diverts to Momo, who is shocked at the sudden diversion from Sana's typical talk. Momo shrugs and laughs, and Dahyun looks interested with the question too. 

Mina looks at how Dahyun shuffles closer to Momo, eager to hear her answer, and Mina doesn’t know if the scoff that she just heard came from her brain or from her damned mouth.

"I dance. I rap. I sing." She says with brief pauses, and Sana jumps up with happiness, her hands matching her emotions. 

Sana goes over to Momo's side and shuffles next to her, the other girl looking like she just ate broccoli covered with chocolate. "Really? So do we! Well...I don't necessarily rap, but I could! And, Dahyun raps as well! What's that one song you always play again? Bass Boom? Happy boom? Super car?" Dahyun finds herself stifling her laughter. "Super boom?"

" **Super bass**. She always plays Super bass." Mina comments, and the three look at her. 

"Of course, Mina would know; the two are literally girlfriends." Sana chortles, patting Momo's back. "If these two aren't already dating, they should. Their whole day consists of looking at each other." Mina glances at Dahyun, who looks a bit embarrassed at the whole situation. 

"So are you two dating?" Momo asks, and Dahyun and Mina look at each other to coordinate their answers. 

"No!" " _Maybe_."

"Maybe?!" Dahyun reaches over the table to slap Mina's arm. "What do you mean maybe?!"

Mina feels flushed, and quickly comes up with an excuse. "I'm kidding, geez. Imagine what I have to hear from everyone who sees us as more than just friends." Mina rolls her eyes and stands up, with the three other girls looking at her in bewilderment, and Mina nervously laughs. "I'll get going. I've got economics now." She waves goodbye and heads outside the cafeteria, her heart falling along with her breath.

\- 

Sana catches up with Mina at the end of the day, and Mina's energy pack for the next month has been drained. 

"So, Minari..." Sana begins in suspense, but the other girl simply does not care. She just wants to go home and recharge her batteries. "Do you want to hang out with me and the girls tonight? We're going out for drinks." 

Mina thinks about who 'the girls' are, and she stops in her tracks, realising what Sana means.

"The cheerleaders?" 

Sana nods in response to Mina's realisation, and wraps her arms around Mina's shoulders. "Please hang out with us. I think you'll really like them. Or like, one of them at least." Sana gives Mina her signature puppy eyes, and a pout as the cherry on the top of the mint choco sundae. “You already talk to Nayeon unnie a lot, why not join? Pleaseeee!”

"I'm okay. I have plans tonight." Mina pulls away from Sana's tug, and Sana stomps her feet cutely, trying her best to persuade the girl. 

"Pretty pretty please?" 

"No."

This conversation repeats about twenty times, and the answer from Mina is always no.

Sana sighs, about to give up. "Your plans are with Dahyun, aren't they?" She takes Mina's right hand, and Mina shivers at the touch. 

"...Yeah."

"You can hangout with Dahyun tomorrow! You basically live with her!" She nags, shaking Mina's balance. 

Mina thinks about the prospect of straying away from her daily routine, and she finds herself contemplating about what her daily routine would be like without Dahyun. 

It seemed lonely without her. 

But Mina also remembers the text Dahyun sent her a few nights ago.

_don't u have any other friends?_

_I do have friends._ Mina reminds herself. _I do have...acquaintances._

All of a sudden, Mina is unconsciously taking her phone out to text Dahyun, and Sana squeals in delight, finally getting the girl to agree to something. Mina doesn't know why she's doing this. It wasn't anything like Mina to agree to going out with a bunch of high-skirted, ponytail-popping, jumping-and-locking cheerleaders.

**minariiiiii[16:02]**

I won't be bringing you home today, sry

i'm going out with a few...

people

**dubu >_<[16:03]**

ahhh finally!

good luck unnie!

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

**minariiiiii[16:05]**

you seem a bit too overenthusiastic.

**dubu >_<[16:06]**

overenthusiastic?

i'm happy that ur getting out there

**minariiiiii[16:08]**

out there?

wdym

**dubu >_<[16:09]**

i'm happy that ur expanding ur horizons

i can't be w u forever u know

**minariiiiii[16:12]**

yeah.

i know. 

**dubu >_<[16:14]**

goodbye unnie! 

see u later on tnite then :)))

Mina switches off her phone and heads with Sana to her car.

* * *

Dahyun was surprised when she saw the text.

Not like surprised.

More like, she felt as if there was a change in the universe and all the events in the previous universe had shifted.

"Who's that?" Someone peeked over Dahyun's shoulder, and she turned around to see Momo grinning. 

Dahyun rubs the nape of her neck and laughs. "Mina unnie. She said she's going out with some friends, so she can't take me home tonight." 

The two stand on the steps of the college in silence, wondering what the other is going to do next. 

_Will Momo go home?_

_How will Dahyun get home?_

"Momo unnie." "Dahyun." They say simultaneouly, but break into laughter at their unrehearsed speech. "You go first." More fits of laughter.

Dahyun and Momo don't care as the students pass them with a look in their eyes that asks, ' _Are you two psychos_?' 

They simply don't care.

"Unnie, you speak first." Dahyun laughs, and Momo lets her laughter slowly die down.

"I can take you home first, if you want." Momo offers, and Dahyun nods, sighing with relief.

"Thank goodness." She beams, putting her phone into the pocket of her varsity jacket, and begins to walk with Momo to her car. "Usually Mina unnie brings me home and then cooks me dinner, but since she's out with friends, it's just me tonight."

Momo clicks her tongue for a bit, before they arrive at Momo's red ac cobra with white streaks, and as they both go into the car, Momo stops for a second. "Do you want to go eat out with me?"

Dahyun finds herself smiling and nodding almost immediately with Momo's request, and the both of them head into the car.

During the drive, Momo puts on the radio, and 'Don't Stop Believing' starts playing, and Dahyun groans.

"You don't like this song?" Momo chuckles, quickly changing the radio channel. "It's too overplayed, right?"

Dahyun nods and relaxes with the next song, looking at Momo. "There was a time I was obsessed with that song. Mina unnie came over to my house and told me to turn it off. I didn't listen to her, and I kept on playing it." She chuckles with the memory. "Two days later, that song wouldn't get out of my head and Mina unnie forced me to listen to classical music so that I wouldn't have to suffer with the chorus for the rest of my life. Now I can transcribe Vivaldi's Four Seasons without even listening to it."

Momo laughed as they stopped at a red light. There was a short bout of silence between them, with Dahyun eagerly looking to see when the red light would turn green. 

As the light turned green, the next song on the radio played, and Dahyun bubbled with excitement.

"You like this song?" Momo questioned, turning right. Dahyun nodded and her eyes seemed to twinkle. 

"It's one of my favourite songs." She told Momo, taking out her phone to record.

"Mina unnie!" Dahyun laughed as she recorded the radio, and then turned the camera to point at Momo. Momo gave the peace sign and smiled, before turning back to look at the road. "This was the song of the day that I messaged you about on Tuesday! I love this song, 'How can I love the heartbreak, you're the one I love'. But you already know that. Haha." Dahyun pointed the camera back to Momo. "Also, unnie, this is my driver for the day. Say hi, Momo unnie."

"Hey." Momo sheepishly answered. 

"She's a bit shy. Anyways, enjoy your night out! See you tonight!" Dahyun stopped recording, before proceeding to send the message. 

Momo peeked at the phone screen, and then looked to Dahyun.

"What's your relationship with Mina?" She queried, and Dahyun shrugged. 

"She's just my close friend, that's all."

"Really?" Momo chuckled. "By the looks of it, anyone would think you're dating."

"I told you at lunch that we aren’t dating. Besides, Mina unnie would never like me as more than just a friend." Dahyun painfully tells her, giving a weak smile. "She likes someone else."

"But do you like her?"

Dahyun thinks about it for a while, ending the conversation with a painful moment of silence.

-

Dahyun remembers first meeting Mina.

She was the cold, unspoken girl who didn't even glance toward Dahyun.

The memory is a bit hazy to her, but she can remember how the two always met in both their respective countries. Mina's parents would bring her to Korea, and Dahyun's parents would bring her to Japan. 

They became even closer when Mina moved to Korea and moved into the house next to Dahyun's. Dahyun lived alone during high school, with her parents occasionally visiting her just to make sure the house wasn't burned to ashes. 

Dahyun saw Mina as damage control, someone who she could depend on. 

Once Mina's parents moved back to Japan, Mina stayed behind in the house, and began to care for Dahyun as if she were her own mother. Mina would cook, clean, force Dahyun to do her homework, and spend time with Dahyun whenever she wasn't doing her own work. When Mina started to drive Dahyun to school after getting her driver's license, they spent more time together.

Every single day was with Mina.

And Dahyun's feelings grew for her. 

But Dahyun knew Mina had feelings for Nayeon, the school's captain of the cheerleading team. She remembered Mina talking to Nayeon in the school corridors, and saw the looks on both of their faces. 

Mina was smiling.

_It's only because we've been together so much. I just thought I had feelings for her._ Dahyun reminded herself everyday, every time she stumbled outside whenever Mina's car pulled up on the driveway. 

The feelings for Mina naturally faded away after some time, after Pavlov Dogging herself, and she began to hang out with more people. She saw Mina less during school, but every time she saw her, she'd always be with Nayeon, Lisa, or Sana. 

_I didn't have feelings for her. Just high levels of respect and adoration._

She repeated that phrase over and over again in her head. 

-

Momo and Dahyun sat down at the barbecue restaurant, after a drive of minimal talking, and listening to the sad songs on the radio. 

The talk stopped after Dahyun weakly told Momo what Mina ~~probably~~ thought of her, and why she had never liked Mina as more than just a friend.

_"No. She's always been like an older sister to me." Dahyun answered after a long pause. "She probably things I'm a handful to deal with."_

The bowl of meat for grilling arrives on their table, and Momo goes straight to putting the pork strips on the grill. Dahyun helps with the rest of the meat, and the two start talking about some things that they have in common, such as Dahyun's limited knowledge of Japanese phrases, and Momo's love for contemporary and hip-hop dance. 

The conversation stopped for a bit when Dahyun looked at her phone, only to see she received a text from Mina.

"Who is it?" Momo curiously asks, and Dahyun smiles at her.

"Mina unnie."

**minariiiiii[17:59]**

i forgot about your dinner

do you want me to get you something?

**dubu >_<[18:00]**

no i'm eating out w momo unnie **|backspace**

She begins to type, but gets distracted when their drinks come. Dahyun turns off the phone, leaving Mina on read. 

It wasn't as if it was on purpose.

The rest of the time they spend eating, Mina isn't even on Dahyun's mind most of the time.

She's at the very back.

* * *

**minariiiiii[17:59]**

i forgot about your dinner

do you want me to get you something?

Mina waits for the girl's quick reply, surrounded by cheerleaders who are dancing to Ikon's Love Scenario. Her eyes perk up when she sees three dots coming from Dahyun's text, but the three dots never form words. 

**dubu >_<[18:00]**

**...**

She looks back at the text she had sent beforehand, wondering what no response from Dahyun meant.

do you want me to get you something?

_read_

Mina shoves her phone into her bag and decides to eat another rice cake, just to fill her upset stomach.

Mina doesn't know why she feels sick to her stomach. She doesn't know if it's because of the amount of rice cakes she had eaten, if it was the sweet scent of Nayeon next to her (a lovebug perhaps?), or if it was because she didn't feel like she belonged with this crowd. 

She'd already had at least thirteen shots of soju, and decided to make that her final reason as to why she felt sick. 

Mina's feels a little flushed, and after a bit of karaoke with the girls, she sits back down on the couch, resting her head. 

Nayeon moves in closer, touching Mina's forehead with the back of her hand. "You're not burning hot, but you look pale. Do you want me to take you home?" Mina shakes her head as she proceeds to stand up.

"I'm fine, unnie. I can drive myself."

"Not after having several shots of soju, that's not possible. Sana," Nayeon turns to the singing wonder. "I'm gonna bring Mina home." Sana nods and takes Mina's other arm, dragging it around her neck. 

Mina doesn't hear much that Nayeon and Sana talk about on the way to the car. She doesn't want to hear what they have to say. She just wants to go home and sleep. Or spend time with Dahyun, whichever one is possible.

She doesn't know why her thoughts are filled with worry. She doesn't know where Dahyun is. She doesn't know who Dahyun's with. She doesn't know if Dahyun's okay. 

Her thoughts are just filled with Dahyun. 

-

Mina sobers up a bit, and she sits upright in her car. Realising she's in the passengers seat, she turns to the driver's seat to see a sleepy Nayeon. 

"Nayeon unnie?" Mina bubbles out and lies back down after speaking. 

"Oh, you're up." Nayeon turns down the music and takes a quick glance at Mina before turning back to look at the road. "You know you're quiet, even whilst drunk?"

Mina shakes her head. "I didn't know. I don't really get drunk. I have a high alcohol tolerance." Nayeon laughs at the girl's statement, nodding in agreement. 

"I could tell. You had thirteen shots, when I only had three and I already started to get woozy." 

Mina wants to say something(or laugh at the weak attempt of humour--or what she thinks is humour), but it stays lodged in her throat throughout the car ride. 

After a while, the car suddenly stops, and Mina looks out the window to see a brightly convenience store that blinds her for a split second. "Do you want to buy anything?" Nayeon asks her, and Mina nods, heading out of the car. "I'm gonna buy something quickly, and then wait for you in the car." Mina nods for what seems like the nth time that day, and she heads inside the store to get some food.

It takes a bit longer than expected to shop, especially with a growing migraine. Mina finds herself stumbling across the small store, picking up a few snacks and some ready-to-go food(Mina doesn't even like these snacks, they're all for Dahyun who's going through extremely late 'puberty', according to the latter). 

Upon paying, she struggles to take her card out, and after four minutes of fumbling around (it's hard to remember your pin when you're drunk) she finally manages to see the long-awaited word, "processed", and she heads out. At least, after running back because she forgot her items. 

Nayeon asks Mina if she's alright, Mina answers with a nod, and Nayeon starts up the engine again. 

The rest of the car ride is ~~silent~~ filled with Nayeon singing Mariah Carey's 'Emotions' and repeating it in order to get the whistle note. 

-

Mina trips as she gets out of the car, and Nayeon rushes to help her up. "Sorry about that." Mina mutters, and Nayeon smiles at her warmly. "No biggie." Nayeon helps her to the gates. 

Out of the corner of Mina's eyes, she sees Dahyun getting out of Momo's car.

_Of course we arrive at the same time._ Mina rolls her eyes to the back of her head. "Are you okay, Mina? You look possessed." Nayeon tells her, and Mina shakes out of it, standing up straight. 

"Yeah. Uh, thank you for taking me home, unnie." Mina is about to turn around, when a million thoughts instantaneously rush through her mind. She begins to fall, hearing a " _Mina unnie!_ " from Dahyun, but Nayeon just so manages to swoop in before Mina’s dead ass falls onto the floor. As Nayeon pulls her up, she isn’t sure why this one thought is pushing her to her limits. She isn’t sure why she wants to carry out the executions for this thought. 

“Nayeon unnie.” Mina looks up at her, and Nayeon raises her eyebrows. _God, I sure hope I’m doing something right for once_. “Can you do something for me?” _Something I might end up regretting, that is._

Nayeon nods her head gently, ”Go on.”

* * *

Dahyun’s over Mina. 

She’s made up her mind that Mina’s nothing more than a loving, caring older sister. She’s held this thought, saying that she only had feelings for Mina because of admiration, and not infatuation.

Dahyun ‘Pavlov Dogged’ herself, she would say. 

She knows that Mina has feelings for someone else—that someone else being beauty pageant queen, Im Nayeon—and that they have feelings for Mina too. She knows that Mina doesn’t think of her as anymore than a nagging younger sibling.

So why is it that the second Nayeon and Mina’s lips met, her heart shattered into several pieces?

* * *

Mina doesn’t receive a goodnight text that night.

All she gets is a video of Dahyun playing her favourite song in the car with Hirai Momo.


	2. it feels more like a goodbye than a goodnight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There’s a shift in the world. Mina’s daily routine is a wreck.

Mina's ~~daily~~ ~~routine~~ day is as follows:

**[06:30AM]** Wake up to your ringtone of "Dance of the Nutcracker", and get washed up for school.

Mina spends over twenty minutes staring at herself in the mirror, not realising the time until Nayeon texts her a "Good Morning Minari!", and Mina panics in her state of mind. She feels lost, for some reason.

**[07:00AM]** Prepare and eat breakfast, ~~usually something low in carbs, and high in protein~~. 

Mina doesn't have much in her pantry. She just has snacks from last week. 

She ends up eating a single Jacob's cracker, and makes her way upstairs. 

**[07:30AM]** ~~Prepare all things needed for school today, exercise books, textbooks, pencil case, maths set, etc.~~

Mina can't even bring herself to get her maths textbook. She ends up bringing a single pencil to school, and shares textbooks and such with whoever is sitting beside her (usually it's Sana, and sometimes it's Jihyo. She prays it's not Jihyo, because Jihyo works a bit too fast for Mina to keep up. That, and Jihyo sometimes brings the wrong textbook and berates Mina for not bringing hers.)

**[07:40AM]** ~~Remember to text Dahyun to wake up. That girl would sleep through the end of the world if you didn't wake her up yourself.~~

Sit on your bed and deep life. 

Or watch something to distract your mind, whichever works best.

**[07:45AM]** Get changed for school, the typical grey and white uniform, with a maroon cardigan on top of your polo shirt.

**[08:05AM]** Drive out of your gates, lock them ~~, and make your way to Dahyun's house.~~

~~**[08:08AM]** Yes, she will look like a mess when she comes out of the door. She'll probably have odd socks, an un-ironed blazer, her hair will look as if she was trampled over by a mob of elephants, and there will be a trail of fallen books behind her(get out of the car to help her pick it up). ~~

**[08:08AM]** Momo's there to pick her up. Feel disappointed.

**[08:45AM]** Arrive at school after wallowing in a sad song playlist ~~, drop Dahyun off,~~ park the car, and head into class. 

**[16:00PM]** School is finished, clubs are finished. ~~Drag Dahyun away from Jackson and his group of druggies, and bring her home.~~

**[16:35PM]** Do your homework. At least, try your best at doing it. ~~You'll probably receive a bunch of notifications from Dahyun asking for help, and sending the most random things.~~ You'll probably be distracted by checking your phone a million time to see if a _certain someone_ has texted you. Go through previous messages Dahyun has sent you and wallow in sorrow.

~~**[18:00PM]** Dahyun will come by for dinner. Prepare something she can eat (make sure she doesn't get to the food beforehand!)~~

**[?????PM]** Fuck your schedule. Fuck life. Lie in your bed and binge watch Your Lie in April for the 100th time.

**[22:27PM]** Check your phone again. Maybe she's texted you goodnight. Maybe.

**[03:35AM]** Night finished. Shoot. You went overboard on binge watching HxH. 

* * *

Dahyun can’t help but feel like things are starting to change. Maybe it’s because it’s almost the end of the winter semester, or because it’s getting colder, but Dahyun can feel it in her bones.

”Maybe it’s because you’re getting older.” Momo blatantly tells her with no filter, and receives a light punch to her arm. Dahyun begins to ramble on about how Momo is only a year and a bit older, so why isn’t going through what she is? “Puberty, maybe?” Momo suggests again, but Dahyun shakes her head. 

_Maybe it’s because of that damned kiss._

Momo watches as Dahyun clenches her yoghurt tube, and the yoghurt comes squeezing out like a...(Momo keeps this part PG-18, Dahyun still seems a bit too innocent for this world.)

A light tap on Dahyun’s shoulder snaps her back to reality, and she looks at Momo sweetly smiling at her. Except, it’s not really sweet.

It’s more like, _I can’t believe you’re not seeing what I’m seeing you dumb bitch but I’m not going to tell you what it is so that you can find out yourself_ , and she’s not entirely wrong either.

”Ah shoot!” Dahyun jumps up, her hands and blue jeans covered in apricot flavoured yoghurt. “When-H-How did this happen?”

The other girl pulls out some baby wipes from her backpack and proceeds to collect the runny mess that is Dahyun’s jeans. “You seemed a bit out of it, then BAM! Your jeans are now what it looks like when...” Momo stops herself from continuing, and Dahyun doesn’t bother to push her to finish the sentence.

”I think I’m going crazy.” Dahyun admits, holding her hand out to receive a wipe. “These last few days have been a bit...weird.”

”Weird as in?” Momo asks. 

Weird as in _, my life is a wreck, I’ve been eating toast with condensed milk and sugar for breakfast, I only see Mina when I pass by her in the corridors because she keeps avoiding me, I haven’t handed in any homework, I’m suffering from The Princess Diaries withdrawal syndrome...that sort of weird._ Dahyun thinks this all in her head, but all that comes out is, “Weird as in Sana unnie being quiet for more than an hour weird.” 

Momo nods, only slightly understanding what Dahyun is trying to get at. 

The younger girl finishes removing any possible traces of yoghurt from her hands, and the older girl tries her best to not leave any stains on the blue jeans.

Did I mention they were light blue?

”It looks like I’ve just peed my pants!” Dahyun cries out, scrunching her wet wipes into a ball. “I’m doomed.” 

Momo doesn’t hesitate to remove her varsity jacket, and ties the arms of the jacket around Dahyun’s waist, just enough to cover the stains. 

Dahyun, flustered, gives a little thanks(in the form of a squeak), and the two head inside for their next class.

-

PE was a wreck. 

While Momo may be an athlete, Dahyun’s a gymnast, and running up and down the gym’s radius is not what she had planned for the day. Not that she had anything planned in the first place. 

Worst of all, Mina’s sitting on the bleachers, exempted from running because of a sprained ankle that she received after tumbling out of Nayeon’s car.

(Dahyun saw the whole thing in 4K.

She saw from how Mina looked like a goddess as she got out of the black Audi r8, as if the world was her red carpet.

Then a slight misstep as she put her right foot onto the ground sent Mina to the ground.

Dahyun would have ran over to pick her up, if it weren’t for Nayeon rushing to Mina’s side. 

She really would have picked Mina up that night.

Maybe if she had done that, the kiss wouldn’t have happened.)

Dahyun doesn’t like the feeling of Mina’s eyes on her, but she doesn’t want to run another lap, so she tries her best to run without hesitation. 

It doesn’t really work out, Dahyun’s out-of-breath, and so she asks for a water break. 

The water is refreshing, and it feels like taking a drink at 2AM in the morning. It slides down the throat nicely, and Dahyun feels as if she’s ready to go through ten more laps (spoiler alert: coach changed it to fifteen more), and best of all, Mina’s right behind her-

The fact dawns on her.

_Mina’s right behind me?_

  
-

Mina isn’t exactly sure what to say. _Just say hi, you idiot._ She doesn’t know how to interact with Dahyun after a few days of purposely avoiding her. 

She also notices the faint dark circles under Mina's eyes, badly covered up by makeup. She knows that Mina doesn't wear makeup to school, and her doing so today makes it a bit too obvious because of the blotches of pale foundation.

Dahyun doesn’t know whether to just ignore the beauty that is Myoui Mina, or to try and start a conversation. 

“Hi.” Dahyun squeaks out. _The latter it is, then. “_ Is your ankle okay? Do you need me to bring you back?”

Mina tries to get words out of her mouth, but she has a brain fart, and can’t process anything. 

Dahyun ends up receiving a 45 degree angle bow, and watches as Mina hops (or runs, whichever verb makes Mina look more graceful) off, and she can’t help but scratch her head. 

“She doesn’t want water then?” _Of course she did, you just blocked her way._ Dahyun sighs and heads back inside the gym, where coach berates her for dilly-dallying instead of drinking water, and sends her to do more excruciating laps.

Rushing to get to school in the morning and not being able to get in the right mindset really has Dahyun begging to God on her knees at the end of the lesson, asking Him to provide her with strength enough to last a whole lifetime.

God, however, chooses not to answer her prayer.

* * *

Dahyun no longer wakes up to Mina’s constant spams and calls. Instead, she’s greeted with a honk from Momo’s car outside, and, as unprepared as she is, she still manages to arrive to school in one piece.

That’s what it looks like to Dahyun anyway. 

For Chaeyoung, Dahyun’s OTHER best friend (out of the hundreds she has), Dahyun looks like she brought her body but left her soul at home. As much as she’s told Dahyun that she’ll be her new alarm clock, Chaeyoung knows she’s just as trustworthy as sitting on a branch, ten feet away from the ground.

The two are infamously known as _dumb & dumber_ around the school, and they definitely live up to that title. 

Whenever Chaeyoung has an idea that may end up with the school exploding, Dahyun is always by her side, even until the last second.

Whenever Dahyun needs help with some sort of calamity she caused, Chaeyoung is always there to make a fool of herself for distraction purposes.

(Chaeyoung’s girlfriend finds this quite amusing to look at. Through her eyes, they’re like little mice--or rats, since the movie was called ratatouille after all--trying to cause chaos in Gusteau’s kitchen.) 

Tzuyu knows that whatever has been going on with Dahyun lately, also has to do with Mina’s blotchy make-up today.

She wants to give the Japanese girl a tutorial, but from what she’s heard from Dahyun’s endless stories, Mina’s quite prideful.

She also knows that Mina is avoiding Dahyun(for pride’s sake, she thinks), and that Dahyun is avoiding Mina(for revenge, Tzuyu knows). 

_The two make it so obvious._

* * *

Dahyun knows that Mina is avoiding her, and she doesn't want to understand why. _Mina was never like this_ , she tells herself. _Does she feel the need to avoid me just because she's going out with someone?_

Dahyun knows two can also play at this game, and does her best to avoid Mina at all costs.

Mina knows she's purposely avoiding Dahyun, and everytime she gets the chance to talk to her, one of her other best friends swoops in to talk to Little Miss Sunshine, or she walks away.

They both know that whatever sort of beef they’re having with each other is making its way around the school’s ears.

* * *

Dahyun’s head is now full with answers to the same recurring questions, and she feels as if she’s going insane.

This morning was enough, with questions as to why she's wearing Momo's jacket, and now in the afternoon it's about Mina. 

(”What happened you and your girlfriend?” Jackson comes up to Dahyun, wiping the sweat off of his forehead with his basketball jersey. “I don’t see you two together anymore. Did you guys break up?”

”Oppa. We weren’t even dating.” Dahyun glares at him, and prepares herself for another round of questions which involves Mina once again.)

"I can never catch a break." Dahyun huffs, exiting the building.

She sits herself on the steps of the college, wondering whether she should just teleport home or ask Momo to throw her off a bridge. (Dahyun doesn't want the latter, she's a bit too afraid of heights.) All she wants is peace; all she wants is for things to go back to normal. **All she wants is to erase the memory of that night.**

"Dahyunnie-" Someone begins, but Dahyun's had enough of the questions. 

"No, me and Mina were not dating, not now, not yesterday, not ever. Second of all, yes, we aren't talking at the moment, but it doesn't concern you, and third-" Dahyun turns around to see who the next interrogator is, and stops in her tracks. "Jeongyeon unnie." Jeongyeon doesn't even scold Dahyun, she just titters and sits down next to her. 

"I was looking for you." Jeongyeon takes a sip from her apple juice box, wrapping her free arm around Dahyun's tight shoulders. "I've been watching people talk to you all day. You looked scared, or as if didn't know how to answer. What happened?"

If Mina didn't exist, Jeongyeon would have been Dahyun's Guardian Angel #1. _Thank you for coming to my rescue, Guardian Angel #2_.

But she doesn't want to burden Jeongyeon unnie with her childish problems. From what she's heard, Jeongyeon's had some trouble with the basketball team, and also being the daughter of one of the school board member's, she needs to keep up a good act with the school. Dahyun remembered hearing that Jeongyeon unnie got into trouble with a high-school dropout gang after one of her basketball girls got tangled up in a relationship with one of the members. She knows that Jeongyeon got suspended for a bit, but no one knows what actually went on that time.

Dahyun prefers to see Jeongyeon as an angel rather than the female version of Rocky, and tells herself she definitely does not want to know what went down that night.

"Nothing, unnie." Dahyun exhales, looking at her feet while moving it around. "Just a childhood best friend rift kind of thing."

Jeongyeon takes her arm back, now using it to lean a bit backwards. "It sure doesn't seem like nothing, considering how you haven't been talking about Mina at the table lately. I started to like hearing your childhood stories." Dahyun knows she's just trying to make her feel better; she knows that they're all tired of hearing about Mina EVERY. SINGLE. LUNCH. 

"You know me too well." The shorter girl tells her. _Or maybe it’s because they've been celebrating that I haven't talked about her yet this week._

"Yeah, well, tell me what's wrong."

Dahyun gives in and proceeds to tell Jeongyeon about what happened that night, even giving information about the kiss that she saw. Jeongyeon doesn't laugh(which is a surprise), and listens intently to Dahyun's little rant. 

"So why is it bothering you?" Jeongyeon asks, and Dahyun doesn't know how to answer. She knows why it's bothering her, but she doesn't want to admit the reason why.

Dahyun is over Mina.

She's over Mina's smile, _that damned gummy smile._

She's over how Mina laughs whenever Dahyun tells a remotely funny joke.

She's over how beautiful Mina looks whilst cooking so effortlessly.

She’s over how caring Mina is whenever Dahyun is sick.

She’s over how Mina laughs every single time Mia finds out she’s a princess....

She's over her.

But Jeongyeon is a human lie detector. Dahyun knows she can’t run away.

"You still like Mina, _don't you_?"

* * *

Dahyun hates how Jeongyeon's always right. She knows it's best to not try hide anything from the older girl, because she'll always find out(or figure it out) in the end. 

Dahyun also hates how the minute she looks up from her staring competition with her converse shoes, Mina is standing at the bottom of the stone stairs, looking at the two. She notices someone standing next to Mina, and her mind goes blank. _Nayeon. Of course it is._

She doesn’t know what to do, and the only option at this time is to be in denial.

It's at times like these that Dahyun is grateful that Mina forced her to join drama club.

"What?!" Dahyun jumps up, doing her best in acting as if what Jeongyeon said wasn't true. "She's like my older sister! I could never see her in that way!" She notices in the corner of her eye a split second of disappointment on Mina's face, but figures it's just her imagination.

Jeongyeon seems to believe in Dahyun's great acting, and Dahyun feels as if she could beat Scarlett Johansson for a grammy. (Dahyun had acted once in a play as tree #3, and her parents told her she did a great job. Mina told her to aim for higher next time, and the highest role Dahyun had ever gotten was Donkey from Shrek.)

"Oh, really?" Jeongyeon clicked her tongue and stood up. "Guess I was wrong." She turned her head to look at Mina and Nayeon who stood in the same spot. "Oh, you guys were here?" 

Dahyun knows at this point that Jeongyeon isn't dumb. Jeongyeon knows Dahyun still likes Mina.

_Fuck._

\- 

Mina doesn't know whether to feel relieved or sad. She doesn't know how to express her emotions well, and frankly enough, if she had the ability to show her emotions, she'd probably be a wreck right now. 

_"She's like my older sister! I could never see her in that way!"_

She feels someone hold onto her hand, and oh how she wishes it's Dahyun's tiny clammy hands, but Dahyun's standing a few steps above her, and Nayeon's right next to her. "Mina?" Nayeon looks at her, with the most wistful eyes. Mina wishes she could look at Nayeon the same way she looks at her, but all her eyes show is disappointment.

She's disappointed with Dahyun's answer, disappointed with the way she's using Nayeon, disappointed with the way she keeps on denying everything, disappointed with her mess of a schedule, disappointed in herself...disappointed with life, really. 

"You spaced out, everything good?" Nayeon snaps Mina back to reality, and when Mina looks up, _she's_ no longer there. She simply nods and bounces up the stairs, mad at herself for saying nothing.

Mina knows why she's like this, and she wants to speak to _her_ again, but for some reason, some darn frog in her throat won't let her utter a single word.

* * *

_Dahyun was always the one to talk. Mina would just stand behind her, cowering as her Korean wasn’t exactly fluent yet (she had only lived there for a month)._

_Mina knew simple phrases, such as “hello”, “I’m fine” and “sorry”._

_She knew other useful phrases too, such as how to ask how much something was, how to say thank you, how to say goodnight (which just so happens to be her favourite phrase now), and how to say she’s hungry._

_The language barrier between Mina’s world and Dahyun’s world made it a little bit hard for ten-year-old Mina to get around to._

_Mina remembered the time she got into trouble with an old lady from the neighbourhood, and she didn’t know how to be polite yet. (Dahyun had only taught her informal words because they were friends)._

_Luckily enough, Dahyun came to her rescue._

_Mina doesn’t know how Dahyun convinced the lady to give them 100 won each, but she remembered the frightened look on the old lady’s face._

_She never bothered asking what Dahyun said that day, but she’s grateful that Dahyun has always been the one to break that speech barrier between them_.

* * *

It's PE, and Mina can't walk properly because of her sprained ankle, so she gets an excuse to not join the class. She doesn't mind, PE's never been her favourite subject, and PE's never really liked her back anyways. It was a mutual feeling. 

While Mina is quite fit (that's what Dahyun used to say every time the girls were late for middle school), her sleep hasn't been the best for the past week, and the makeup she's wearing is really making her skin itchy. The dark circles were definitely NOT what she had in mind when she imagined binge watching HxH. 

She watches as Momo casually sprints back and forth, and turns to look at Dahyun, who looks physically and mentally exhausted. 

Dahyun looks like she could faint any moment.

The second Dahyun accidentally glances at Mina, Mina’s eyes don’t know where to go, and she ends up looking at Nayeon, who is relaxing with Sana near the fire exit after finishing their five laps (Momo opted to continue on running with Dahyun, but ended up doing six more laps in the time it took Dahyun to do two). _These girls, really_. Mina sighs, and her eyes go back to Dahyun. 

But Dahyun’s not there, and Mina stands up. For a second, she forgets all about her ankle, until not even a second into standing, her knees buckle and she falls back onto the bleachers with a thud.

Next thing she knows, Nayeon and Sana are running over to her, and Mina attempts to pull herself up. “I’m fine, I’m fine.” _No I’m not._ “I just need to go toilet.”

Nayeon offers to bring Mina, but the younger girl rejects it, saying she needs to exercise her ankles. She can see Sana’s raised eyebrow, and Nayeon’s worried eyes, but chooses to ignore it.

She ~~_gracefully_~~ hops out of the gym, and finds herself in the empty corridor. 

A water fountain can be heard, and Mina decides to follow the sound. If Mina’s ankles weren’t working as she wanted it to, at least her ears were.

_Dahyun_. She gasps, but the younger girl seems a bit too immersed with the water fountain. _Space, Mina, space._ And Mina wants to follow through with it, she really does, but her heart tells her something different.

She really doesn’t know what to do, and as she hops her way towards Dahyun, she prepares some long speech that you’d probably hear from Grey’s Anatomy or Full House, and it sounds nice in Mina’s mind.

Suddenly, she finds herself face-to-face with Dahyun, and the long paragraph she had rehearsed in her mind jumbles up.

The younger girl says hi, and offers something, but Mina can’t process her words, and ends up bowing, gurgling some mashed up phrases, and leaves Dahyun to just stand there.

Mina finds it stupid how Dahyun had to be the one to initiate the conversation, even though (while Mina hates to admit it) she’s in the wrong.

But the second she heard Dahyun mumbling something to herself, she regretted leaving for no reason at all.

Not exactly what she had in mind, to be honest.

* * *

Mina’s just made a fool of herself. 

She’s made herself a joke in front of Kim Dahyun, the school clown.

_Dahyun’s been demoted to second place_ , is all Mina can think about.

* * *

Nayeon offers Mina water, and the latter takes it, trying to clear her mind of this stupid mess that she’s created.

_There was no need to avoid Dahyun just because you kissed Nayeon._

_Besides, you made Dahyun think you’re avoiding her because of something she did._

_It’s not as if you like Dahyun anyways, right?_

_Dahyun’s like a little sister._

_Yeah._

_A little sister._

” **Hello**? Earth to Myoui Mina?” Nayeon snaps her fingers in front of Mina, who rubs her eyes and tries her best to smile.

Mina nods. “Sorry about that. I’m just tired.” 

“I can see that.” Nayeon laughs, as if she could tell just by the look on Mina’s face. “You don’t know how to do makeup well, that’s for sure.”

Mina’s surprised, and a bit embarrassed, and covers her red(blotchy) cheeks with her hands. 

“You can?” Mina answers, flustered, and leans forward. “I was trying to hide the dark circles under my eyes but got carried away.”

”That doesn’t sound so Mina of you, does it?” Nayeon tells her, and Mina knows she’s right. “You don’t usually sleep late.”

Mina knows that too. 

But she also knows why she’s been sleeping late, and to be honest, she needs to stop with the habit before it gets out of hand.

However, social media and netflix is just a bit too addictive for her to stay away from. 

Her normal, self-controlled, temperate-self has been taken away to wherever Dahyun went.

-

Mina’s constantly been on social media or something of the sort to free her mind of her idiocy, and her explorations have led her to reddit, where she sees a forum for relationship advice. 

Friendship is a relationship, right?

**R/Help! I kissed someone I know in front of my best friend!**

I wouldn’t say we’re best friends, but we’re friends because of some special circumstances. 

I’ve basically grown up with her.

Two days ago, I did something stupid. At least, I think it was stupid. 

I kissed the school’s beauty queen in front of my best friend(who was with her girlfriend/crush(?)) at the time. 

I felt bad and I’ve been ignoring her because I don’t want to face her. I don’t know what to do. 

Please help!!!

**rustupid_** idk man, i think it sounds like u like ur best friend?

**pablopicass0scuzin** you don’t feel bad. i think you kissed that person because u felt jealous of ur best friend.

**johnnnnnhee** why would u kiss someone randomly unless u like them? u just feel embarrassed bc ur best friend saw

**qw3rtyass** talk to ur friend. if u dont explain what happened, ur friendship will disappear. (i think u like ur best friend tho, that’s y ur ignoring them) 

”Stupid, stupid, stupid.” Mina mutters. _They’re not of any help_ , she thinks to herself, going back onto netflix. “I don’t like Dahyun.” She scoffs.

_Never_. 

-

Mina’s daily routine is, the least to say, _fucked_.

Nothing’s going right. It all just seems like her whole life has been slipping out of her palms for the past few days, and she just wants it to go back to normal.

But she knows that this is the new normal.

It’s cold outside, and it’s cozy inside, but Mina chooses to go outside to feel pain. 

Not as if she hasn’t been feeling it for the past few days, anyways.

She exhales, and a wisp of smoke leaves her lips, and evaporates into the dark night. She finds herself alone with the stars and the moon, and that darn cricket that just doesn’t want to leave. 

Her thoughts overwhelm her, and as she picks them out one-by-one, she tries to find reasons as to why she’s acting this way. It’s not as if she wants to act like this. She feels like a five-year-old, having a tantrum because she’s not getting what she wants.

It’s so stupid.

She has no reason to avoid Dahyun.

But then again, Mina hates admitting that she’s wrong, and she just doesn’t want to admit that everything she’s thought about Dahyun for the past two years were just to hide what she never expected to feel towards the exuberant, smiley wonder. 

_“She’s like my older sister! I could never see her in that way!_ ” 

The speech replays in her mind over and over again, and the pain doesn’t stop. 

“That’s what you get for only staying by her side and not bothering to meet new people. Tsk.” She kicks the grass and cranes her neck up to look at the sky, remembering something special to her. “Tsuki ga kirei desu ne, Dahyun.” 

And as if on cue, she hears the laughter that only she could recognise within a second—Dahyun.

”The moon is so pretty, Momoring!” Dahyun gasps, and Mina feels her heart shatter when she hears who Dahyun’s with. 

“It is.” Momo replies, and Mina doesn’t realise it, but she’s kissing her teeth. “You know in Japan, we have this saying-”

”Tsuki ga kirei desu ne.” Mina can hear the smugness in Dahyun’s tone, and she can’t help but smile to herself. “I know, Mina taught it to me when we were kids.” 

Mina’s heart feels a bit lighter, and she’s feeling warm inside, like a little teddy bear. 

  
_Mina remembers the night she taught it to Dahyun. She remembers the full moon, and how Dahyun asked how to say ‘moon’ in Japanese._

_She remembers replying to Dahyun with that phrase, and when the younger asked what it meant, Mina explained it as far as her trilingual skills could take her._

_Dahyun fell in love with that phrase that day, Mina notes, as the amount of times the girl has repeated that phrase everytime it’s a full or crescent moon proves that, while Dahyun may be her sunshine, Mina is her moon._

_And they just fit like that._

“Ah really? Yeah, I love that phrase.” Momo tells her, with a soft laugh in her speech. 

“Mmhm.” Dahyun hums. “Let’s go back inside.”

Momo laughs, and Mina can’t help but feel a bit zealous. ”To watch The Princess Diaries again?” 

_To watch The Princess Diaries again._

Mina stops, and she can’t hear what Dahyun says after that. 

Mina finds herself taking out her phone to text whoever comes out first; and while Dahyun is the first on her favourites list, she picks Nayeon, and her body just takes over.

**miguri <3[21:34]**  
nayeon

**yeowo[21:36]**  
yes?

it’s late now

you should get to sleep

**miguri <3[21:37]**  
can u come over

like, right now?

**yeowo[21:38]**  
huh?

**miguri <3[21:40]**  
ah it’s fine

i dont wanna bother you

**yeowo[21:40]**  
NO NO ITS FINE

i’ll come

if ur sad

**miguri <3[21:42]**  
i am. 

**yeowo[21:43]**  
i’ll be there soon.

Mina doesn’t know why, but the second Nayeon enters her house, her body leads the way, and she doesn’t do much talking after that.

For the rest of that night, Dahyun isn’t anywhere near Mina’s thoughts. For her, Dahyun’s locked in the basement, and Mina will only release her when she sees her. 

Dahyun’s spirit isn’t trapped though.

* * *

Dahyun wakes up the next morning, and walks down the stairs to the sweet smell of tonkatsu being made by her new personal chef, Hirai Momo.

”You’re here early.” Dahyun comments, taking in the sweet scent of tonkatsu sauce. “You actually made tonkatsu for me?”

Momo gives Dahyun a sweet smile, a genuine one this time, and nods. “You said you were craving it last night.”

”Ah, I should just get you to live here with me. That would make life so much easier.” Dahyun mindlessly comments, and heads off to set the table.

Momo doesn’t know whether to show off her happiness, or to just keep it inside like the fangirl she is. 

“Is it almost done?” Dahyun asks, and gets a plastic container out of her cupboard. “I think I might get some for Mina unnie too.”

_Mina, Mina, Mina. It’s always Mina_. Momo can’t help but feel heartbroken. _Even Mina told you my favourite phrase before I got to say it._

But at the same time, as heartbroken as Momo is, she also knows she’s no competition compared to Mina. She knows that in Dahyun’s brain, Mina’s always first.

Momo neatly designs Mina’s portion of tonkatsu, even making an extra portion because she knows how special Mina is to Dahyun, and wraps it up neatly. Dahyun writes a note to finish, and as Momo creates the presentation that masterchefs could only dream of, Dahyun heads over to Mina’s house. 

She doesn’t know whether to knock, or to just go in, and decides to go with the latter, just so she could talk to Mina for a bit, no matter how awkward it may be.

“2-4-2-8-9-7.” Dahyun mutters as she inputs the code, struggling to hold the present she wants to give in the other hand. The code is still the same. 

_It’s not as if Mina unnie would change it just because we’re ignoring each other_. Dahyun gleams with happiness, and knocks before opening the door.

She first notices Mina’s black boots, and then realises there’s a new pair of converse shoes next to it, and it sure doesn’t look like any of Dahyun’s converses. 

The second she enters the main house, she sees a face that she never expected to see, especially not in a familiar oversized white t-shirt with nothing to cover her bare legs.

”Nayeon unnie...” Dahyun gulps, offering the red package. “I-I have some f-food for y-y-you and Mina u-unnie.” _Of course Nayeon slept the night. Momo must have some telepathic power to have made two portions._

“Ah, thanks Dahyunnie.” Nayeon smiles, taking the food, but Dahyun isn’t so sure if it’s genuine. “Mina’s asleep right now, but I’ll tell her you came by.” 

Dahyun nods and begins to head out, embarrassed with the whole situation she’s in.

“Wait, Dahyun-” Nayeon stops her for a second, and the shorter girl turns around so as to not seem rude. “Who made this food? Because from what I know, it’s usually Mina cooking for you.” 

Dahyun hates how Nayeon knows that. 

“Yeah,” Dahyun chuckles to her best standard, and quickly flicks her nose. “Momo unnie made it. She’s at my house right now, if you wanna say hi to her.” 

Dahyun doesn’t know why she gave away that information. It wasn’t as if Nayeon would care anyways. 

"Momo..." Nayeon whispers under her breath, and then just smiles and nods. “No, it’s fine. I’ll tell Mina that too.” 

“Okay.” Dahyun blankly stares at the ground. “Goodnight.”

”Goodnight?” Nayeon chuckles. “I’m guessing you haven’t had much sleep either.”

The younger girl doesn’t know how to react, so she shrugs and just heads out.

Nayeon’s wrong.

Dahyun has had a good sleep. 

But she doesn’t know why she didn’t say ‘goodbye’ instead. 

* * *

Mina feels Nayeon getting out of bed, and hears her muttering about someone putting in the code at the door.

It must be Dahyun.

But Mina doesn’t have the energy to get up. She doesn’t feel brave enough to face Dahyun. 

Not today. 

Mina hears how Dahyun stutters, and she knows that she must be shocked, because why on earth is Im Nayeon practically bare? 

She begins to tiptoe out of her bedroom, and positions herself on the stairs to hear Dahyun and Nayeon’s conversation. 

She doesn’t know why Dahyun sounds like a mouse, and she doesn’t know why Nayeon hasn’t let her go yet.

” _Yeah, Momo unnie made it_.” 

She feels her heart shatter. 

“ _She’s at my house right now..._ ”

And Mina doesn’t want to hear any more of it.

Was this the universe’s way of karma? 

Mina wasn’t one to believe in karma, but upon hearing that Momo was at Dahyun’s house the same night that Nayeon was at hers...it can’t be just a coincidence, right?

_Fuck the universe_. Mina thinks. _You’re not funny at all, Mr. Karma_. 

Mina hears the door close, and realises Dahyun’s gone. She stands up, just in time for Nayeon to come round the corner, and she pretends to act tired by rubbing her eyes.

”Oh, Mina, you’re awake!” Nayeon grins at her. “Dahyun left some food. Said Momo made it. She gave us two portions, I wonder how they knew I was here.” Nayeon chuckles. 

Mina nods, beginning to head back to the bedroom. She wants that extra five minutes of sleep. 

“Also,” Nayeon begins, and Mina stops mid-way the next step. “She said goodnight instead of goodbye. I think she’s been tired too, just like you.” 

Goodnight? From what Mina recalls, it’s 7:45 in the morning, and Dahyun isn’t one to stay up all night. 

Maybe this is just the universe’s way of telling Mina that it’s Dahyun’s goodbye.

Because since Dahyun hasn’t sent a goodnight text for the past few days, this was the perfect way of telling Mina that she wouldn’t be doing it anymore. 

Mina diverts her course of travel, and makes her way to the bathroom.

_Fuck you, universe._ Mina curses, closing the toilet door. _You’re not the Dahyun you think you are._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I’m in love with heartbreak.


	3. 月がきれいですね

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re like Kaori, and I’m your Arima.”
> 
> “Are you saying I’m gonna die?!”

Dahyun doesn’t know why she’s in a circle (? - _it’s more like a 3-year-old’s depiction of a heptagon_ ) with Mina, Momo, Chaeyoung, Tzuyu, Yeri and Jisoo. 

She also doesn’t know why there’s a bottle in the centre, but Yeri is about to explain it in a second. 

However, a second in Yeri’s dictionary means AFTER they watch Princess and the Frog, and Yeri sings-along to the ‘bops’ she loves. Dahyun sings-along too, and Mina lip-syncs (Mina’s the type to seem uninterested but she really does love Disney). 

After Yeri finishes her thirteen-long song concert, Chaeyoung and Jisoo force her to sit down, and at this point, she's practically a drunk woman. Luckily enough, she doesn't reek of alcohol just yet, and all the girls sit down around the circle coffee table (or at least from their view of the table), ready to start whatever chaos Yeri has in mind. 

Yeri begins to settle down, and she finally gets the chance to explain to the group what she has in mind. 

"We're playing spin-the-bottle." Yeri tells them, and there's an outburst of dispute, especially from the girlfriends, Tzuyu and Chaeyoung. 

Yeah, Chaeyoung's a bit jealous of her goddess girlfriend kissing some heathen (with the exception of her) just because of a bottle that goes ' _wee-woo_ '. She begins to argue with Tzuyu about how kissing another girl, even if it's for some stupid game, is the basis of cheating, and Dahyun has to agree for 'the bros' sake. 

Tzuyu is calm and collected (unlike her rambunctious girlfriend) and allows the ~~much~~ shorter girl to scold her, while she sweetly smiles. The second Chaeyoung has finished her speech, Tzuyu holds her girlfriend's arm, "Are you done?" Chaeyoung answers with a nod and the two look back at the rest of the group as if nothing happened in the first place. 

Mina doesn't even bother to ask about ' _what the heck'_ just happened, because the minute she looks at the four other faces in the room; she knows she's not the only one who thinks she's gone crazy. 

The whole room looks at Yeri after the one-minute silence, and she's forced to make some changes to her first idea of the loathed game. "Fine, fine. We'll do truth instead of the kissing thingies." 

Truth?

Mina's never really been good with the truth. 

Everyone knows Dahyun's the better liar between the two of them, and Mina knows that if the question is about her relationship with anyone she knows, she can’t waffle her way out of it.

Mina doesn't even know how she ended up here.

* * *

Sometimes Mina forgets that she and Dahyun are both in the orchestra. She didn’t join the week before, and was basically dragged to the music room today by the school’s vice-president, Park Jihyo. 

Much to her dismay (or God’s providence), Mina plays violin one, and Dahyun plays the piano. 

God forbid they sit near each other. 

But fate has other plans, and Mina’s now being taught the pieces by Dahyun. 

It’s the orchestra version of ‘A Whole New World’, fom one of Dahyun’s favourite movies, and one of Mina’s favourite soundtracks. Of course it just had to be.

“ **F#** , Mina unnie, **F#**!” Dahyun rubs her temples in frustration, as Mina plays another F natural. “Haven’t you touched this piece in the last few days?” _If I had Dahyun, I would sound good right now_ , Mina frowns, but doesn’t say out loud. 

It may have been a while since they last spoke, but it doesn’t mean that Dahyun won’t speak her mind about Mina’s scratchy playing. Dahyun’s serious when it comes to music, she doesn’t want to be repeating the same phrase over and over again because of a wrong note that Kim Taehyung may make in the brass section.

Mina sits back down with her eyebrows knitted, and Dahyun sighs. They’re alone in the practice room and Mina can’t focus on the music; she has too much to say to Dahyun, but she just doesn’t have the courage to say it.

”Let’s take it from the top.” Dahyun states, and Mina stands up again. Dahyun notices how Mina slightly wobbles, and walks over to where she is. “Sit down, unnie. Your ankle still isn’t fully healed.” 

Mina nods and sits down, with Dahyun adjusting her music stand so that it can be just a little below Mina’s eyes. 

“Thanks, Hyun.” She says, and Dahyun walks back to the piano. 

Mina’s always admired the way Dahyun plays the piano.

It’s like she’s a different person.

As soon as her fingertips touch the cold, white keys, a shiver is sent down Mina’s spine, and Dahyun’s soul is poured out to the piano. All Mina can hear are the beautiful melodies carried out by the right hand, and the harmonies with the left. 

Then the piano stops, and Mina finds herself in a staring showdown with Dahyun.

”Unnie.” Dahyun looks a bit angry. “You’re meant to play. Second bar. A.” 

Mina stands up and puts her violin down in a huff, not wanting to meet Dahyun’s angry glare. “I’m going to get some water.”

”I’ll get it for you.” Dahyun stops her, and Mina sits back down in her seat. “Don’t over-exert yourself.” She looks down at Mina's ankle which is still wrapped up in bandages, and heads off.

Mina doesn’t know why her heart feels warm, and she decides to practice her part while Dahyun is away. 

Her hand is a bit stiff after not having played it for a while, but once she gets the hang of it, it seems a bit simpler for her.

It seems to just flow out of her hand, and Mina finds herself indulged in the music. Her actions, her mind and her body are moving along to the piece, and it’s as if she’s been possessed by Friedrich Kreisler’s ghost. 

She doesn’t even remember half of what she’s playing, her body just takes over.

Suddenly, she finds herself at the end of the piece, and she exhales, feeling like a whole new person. She feels so happy, like she could run two miles. 

She lets the violin down for a bit, panting, and there’s some huge shit-eating grin on her face, and it’s not just for show.

“So you do know how to play.” She hears claps from the door, thinking it’s Dahyun with her water, but it’s not. It’s Nayeon.

Mina smiles as Nayeon walks towards her, continuously clapping to praise the unknown prodigy. “Yeah, I learned it back in elementary school. You play percussion, right?”

Nayeon shrugs her shoulders, taking a seat next to Mina. 

“Is guitar a percussion? Not really sure to be honest.” She laughs, looking at the strange sheet music. “What’s the piece for?”

Mina picks up the score from the stand to show to Nayeon. “Winter show, in a month’s time. The orchestra is playing this piece.”

Nayeon nods her head in approval, as it’s her favourite disney movie, and they continue on talking about how Mina learned how to play such a beautiful instrument.

Dahyun walks through the door to see Nayeon and Mina, and doesn’t bother to say hello to either of them. She places the cold bottle on Mina’s music stand, and sits on the piano chair, adjusting it slightly because she really does not feel comfortable(whether it's because of the height of the chair, or that Nayeon's talking to Mina, Dahyun really doesn't care). 

She plays the first arpeggio, with the two girls looking up.

”Oh, Dahyun.” Nayeon comments, standing up to leave. “I see you two are practicing. I’ll get going then.” As Nayeon nears the door, she turns to Mina. “You wanna hang out with me and the girls tonight?”

Dahyun looks at the two of them.

The girls? _She means the cheerleaders._

“I’m...not sure.” Mina hesitates. “I’ll text you.” Nayeon nods and leaves the room, and with her, she leaves silence as well.

”So how are your new friends?” Dahyun asks, setting up her sheets, and Mina notices a tinge of jealousy in the tone. 

“They’re good. Too energetic for me, though.” Mina grabs her violin to start playing again. “From the beginning?”

Dahyun doesn’t answer Mina, and the rest is tucked below her chin, patiently waiting for Dahyun’s response. 

“Do you...” Dahyun starts, and catches Mina’s attention. _Do you, what, Dahyun? Please tell me,_ Mina practically begs. “Do you wanna hang out with me and the girls tonight? Yeri wants to try something new.”

Mina is frozen, and her brain malfunctions.

”It’s fine, if you don’t wanna go. I understand you have pre-book appointments and stuff, and I don’t really like forcing people to-”

”I’ll go.” _What, Mina? Really_?

“...You sure?”

”Yeah.” Mina tries her best to keep calm. “Sounds good.” She practically coughs it out, looking at the sheet music. “You wanna finish practicing this piece then?”

Dahyun nods and slowly turns back to the piano, about to play the first note.

Mina wants to say something, and she knows that if she doesn’t say it now, the world will never hear it.

”I’m sorry Dahyun.” Mina abruptly speaks, with Dahyun stopping her fingers from touching the keys about an inch away. “I’m sorry for avoiding you.”

Dahyun nods. “I’m sorry for not trying to understand why.”

Mina gulps, and it feels like a boulder has been lifted off of her chest. All her mind is filled with is Dahyun, and while she doesn’t want to fully acknowledge that fact, she realises now might be a good time. 

“You don’t hate me, right?” Mina asks, looking up at Dahyun, who hasn’t even turned her head one degree. 

Dahyun purses her lips. “How could I hate you?” She turns, giving her eye smile to Mina. “I love you, Minari.”

Mina doesn’t know if it’s platonically or canonically, and smiles back. “Love you too, Hyun.”

Both of them don’t take the other’s words romantically.

After all, what they have is just platonic, right?

* * *

The bottle spins for the sixth time.

It’s landed on Yeri twice, Tzuyu once and Jisoo two times. 

Mina hopes it doesn’t land on her. 

She has a feeling that she knows what they’ll ask.

The bottle spins and spins and spins, like a circle with no end, and the suspense grows with every round. 

As the bottle continues on turning, it begins to lose velocity, and slows down. The girls start doing their drumrolls, and Mina joins in by tapping her fingers on the table.

And luckily enough, it doesn’t land on Mina. 

It lands on Dahyun.

Chaeyoung and Yeri and bouncing up and down with excitement, as if they’ve prepared for this moment a hundred years in advance.

Dahyun raises her eyebrow, as if to tell them to hurry up, and if the two _could_ hurry up, they would. However, their excitement gets the better of them and they look like dogs begging for food.

Mina looks over at Momo, who's practically gawping at Dahyun, and she doesn't want to deal with Momo. Not today. Not after what she had with Dahyun got ruined because of her. 

(Mina doesn't necessarily hate Momo...but she doesn’t really approve of Momo either.

It’s a bunch of misunderstandings which Mina claims she’ll never understand.)

”Well? Spit it out, we haven’t got all night.” Tzuyu deadpans, and Dahyun nods in agreement.

Chaeyoung looks at Yeri, and they have some silent agreement in which Yeri will be the one to ask the question.

”Have you ever liked Mina as more than just a friend?”

Both Mina and Dahyun freeze, looking at each other. Momo notices the stares, and sits back, waiting for the little one’s answer. 

“Um...” Dahyun gulps, before turning to look at Yeri. “I...”

* * *

_Eleven-year-old Dahyun wasn’t exactly what you would call, responsible. Even her twenty one-year-old self can’t be described with that, but Dahyun ten years ago was definitely nowhere near that damned word._

_This Dahyun was the type to stay in the rain all day, even when the temperature was just 5 degrees Celsius, and all she was wearing was a red tank top and grey shorts. (which, spoiler alert: she did)._

_Mina had just moved next door, and watching Dahyun playfully showering in the cold was not something she had expected._

_Her parents had always told her to only go out in the cold if you’re wearing a coat, and by the looks of Dahyun’s fit, the younger girl simply did not care (or know)._

_Suddenly, Dahyun rushes inside the house, and Mina closes her shutters, heading downstairs. “Okasan~” Mina walks up to her mum, who is cooking some stew, and Mina peeks over at the orange creation._

_“Yes, Minari?” Her mum asks, not even batting an eye at the curious pre-teen. “You want to take some over to Dahyun? I saw she was playing out in the rain.”_

_Mina shrugs her shoulders, and walks to the table to take her seat. “I’ll do it later.”_

_Her mum nods and continues on cooking, whilst Mina watches and observes her style._

_-_

_Mina doesn’t know why Dahyun hasn’t been at school for the past two days._

_She assumed it was because of a business trip, but Dahyun’s parents car was still parked in their driveway when she left for school._

_Should Mina care? She feels like Dahyun’s going to manage, but then again...it’s Dahyun she’s talking about._

_After school, a ding dong from the doorbell and no reply from inside leaves Mina with one option: to break in._

_Their car wasn’t in the driveway, but Dahyun’s light was on, and that said something (Dahyun’s been strict with electricity for as long as she’s been able to reach the light switch). Mina knew that there was some sort of ladder (or trap) next to Dahyun’s window, and that Dahyun always left her window slightly open._

_“Here goes nothing.” Mina whispers under her breath, managing to hold onto the wooden frame with her right hand, and holding onto a thermos container with her other hand. Maybe I should have brought a bag. Mina begins to regret her choices, but it’s a bit too late—she’s already at the window._

_Mina manages to pry her free pinkie finger through the small gap between the window and the frame, and heaves the window open with a loud grunt. There’s no sound from inside, and Mina assumes Dahyun’s asleep._

_But oh, how wrong Mina is._

_There, Dahyun stood, with a pan in one hand, and a pillow in the other (for protection, Mina assumes), and she looks like she’s ready for battle._

_Mina, on the other hand, throws the thermos inside the room before looking at the puffy-faced, red-nosed Dahyun._

_-_

_“You should’ve told me you were sick.” Mina sighs, throwing herself into the room. “I could’ve brought you some of my mum’s stew the other day.”_

_“I didn't know I was going to be sick. So what’s in the thermos?” Dahyun asks, her nose blocked._

_“Just some ramen I boiled. There’s an egg in there too.”_

_Dahyun simply smiles and takes the stray thermos. Even if she can’t taste a thing, she decides to eat it anyways._

_Mina stares at Dahyun, who’s eating her ramen ever so slowly. There’s a few heavy sniffles, and a many sneezes too, and Mina makes sure to stay at least six feet away._

_“Unnie,” Dahyun begins, after a while of silence where Mina is just staring at the little one eating. “Do you like anyone?”_

_Mina shrugs her shoulders and makes her way onto Dahyun’s bed, taking one of her stuffed toys and stretching it out. “Mmm....Not at the moment. The last time I liked someone was back in Japan.”_

_The sick girl nods and slurps more of her ramen. “Who was it?”_

_Mina raises her right eyebrow as she squeezes the bear. ”Why are you so curious?”_

_Dahyun doesn’t know why she’s so curious, but she figures that it’s because this is what 5th graders talk about nowadays. Or maybe it’s because Mina didn’t seem like the type to like anyone, or that Mina was the one who was liked but never reciprocated their feelings._

_”I want to get to know you, Unnie. You seem so cold to me most of the time.” Dahyun pouts. She sniffles, and feels her throat blocked by whatever substance she just snorted down._

_Mina purses her lips and lays the stuffed toy on her lap._

_“Well,” Mina smiles. “She was my best friend, before I moved here. Haruka, that was her name...” She looks as if she’s remembering the olden days, the way her eyes glisten as she talks and smiles._

_Dahyun can’t help but feel a tinge of jealousy in her chest. Maybe it’s because she wants to be the one Mina claims as her best friend._

_She doesn’t listen to most of what Mina says, she just nods in agreement and adds a few ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs’, just so she doesn’t seem so uninterested._

_Mina’s little storytime ends, and Dahyun feels a bit tired(or annoyed)._

_The Japanese girl tucks her into bed, and Dahyun ends up sleeping within the next minute her head hits the pillow. However, she feels the closeness between her and Mina, and she doesn’t know if it’s just her delusion or hallucination, but she feels Mina kiss her forehead._

_”Goodnight, Dubu. Next time don’t go out in the rain half naked.” She hears a soft laugh, one that even the angels cannot imitate, and her heart falters. “Get well soon.”_

* * *

Mina waits earnestly for Dahyun’s answer, and the younger one doesn’t know where her hand is leading, but it lands onto the shot glass. 

“Come on!” Yeri and Chaeyoung simultaneously throw their hands up into the air at the same time, frustrated with the answer.

Mina doesn’t say anything. 

She just watches as Dahyun chugs the shot glass down, ending with a satisfied “ _ah_ ”. 

“That’s basically a yes, you know.” Yeri argues, and Dahyun knits her eyebrows. 

Dahyun rolls her eyes. “It’s a no.” _It’s a no_. “Move on now.” Mina doesn’t even know to react, she feels numb. She doesn’t know whether to laugh and say the same, or to make a joke out of the situation, but she stays still.

 _It’s the way she said it so confidently, and how she didn’t even hesitate_. Mina stares ahead, not even noticing how the bottle is now facing Momo. 

“Do you like anyone in this room?” Tzuyu asks, and Momo confidently nods her head, looking first at Dahyun, and then the dazed Mina. “Wow, that was quick.” Tzuyu comments, before putting her hand on the bottle to spin it again.

The bottle spins round and round, and it finally lands on Dahyun—again.

”Ah? Really?” Dahyun groans, looking at Momo. “I should just take the shot glass.”

”Wait-” Mina stops her, holding her hand out. But she freezes in that second, and doesn’t move an inch.

The whole room wants to know why Myoui Mina has just told everyone to stop. It wasn’t as if they wouldn’t listen (because if we’re being honest, they were slightly scared of her cold demeanour and personality), it was just that she was staring ahead into the abyss of the table. Dahyun is about to tap Mina’s fingers, but as soon as she sees Jisoo leaning forward already, Dahyun takes two steps back into her original place.

Momo doesn’t know why she feels so hurt. She knows Dahyun has always liked Mina anyways.

“Earth to Myoui?” Jisoo snaps her fingers in front of the dazed girl. “You look as if you saw your future. Does it really look _that_ bad?” Mina looks up, and she nods. “Sheesh, I thought you’d have the good future.”

Mina doesn’t even know how to respond, so she just sits in silence, pulling her hand back to where she sat. 

Yeri leans her head on her arm, which is now rested against the coffee table. “So? Why’d you stop us?”

”Uh.” Mina pauses, and doesn’t dare to look Dahyun’s way, because she has no idea what nonsense will come out of her mouth. “It’s unfair for Dahyun to have it twice within two spins. I’ll do it.” _Oh fuck. That was nonsense_.

“If you’re sure.” Jisoo leans forward and shrugs, shooting a quick look at Dahyun before turning back to Mina. “Are you dating Nayeon?” 

Should Mina lie?

Mina doesn’t have a reason not to. It’s not as if she actually likes anyone anyways. _Right_? So she shrugs her shoulders and stares at Jisoo directly, and it’s as if Jisoo’s being melted into the ground (because if looks could kill, everyone would have been dead already by Myoui Mina’s glare). 

“And what if I am?”

-

It’s been a while, and the whole room is still in chaos.

" _5 bucks, I told you they were dating!" "We're not in America, Yeri!" "Then 10 grand!" "We're not in England either!"_

Mina lies back onto the sofa, and watches as everyone is screaming about Mina actually dating Nayeon - which was a complete lie, but Mina won't tell anyone that. 

Dahyun stands up and heads to the kitchen, and as Mina finds herself pushing upwards, she sees that Momo has already taken initiative to talk to her. Mina stays back, and thinks while the room is rambling on about her new ‘relationship’.

It’s not as if it wasn’t true.... _yeah sure, it was a total and complete utter lie_ but it’s not as if they hadn’t been acting as if they weren’t dating. Mina would always be walking around with Nayeon and the cheerleaders in the corridors, and how the bunny-teethed cheerleader always took care of her, and the fact they always ate together? If Mina wasn’t already crushing on Nayeon, she should have.

But her heart belonged to someone else. 

_Snap out of it Mina. You don’t like her. She’s basically your little sister,_ Mina keep telling herself, over and over again, and she doesn’t know why she has to pause every single time.

She simply shrugs it off and sends the world of Dahyun’s home into chaos once more.

* * *

Mina hears twitters in the morning, and the sound of Dahyun’s alarm clock.

_Dahyun’s alarm clock?_

Mina sits up in shock and looks at her surroundings.

On Dahyun’s white ~~messy~~ desk, there’s a yellow note that Mina would recognise from anywhere. It’s the same yellow note from the sticky note pad that Mina gave to Dahyun for her thirteenth birthday.

In the younger's neat writing, Mina reads, ‘ _I just went out to buy food. I’ll be back in a few_.’ Mina straightens immediately, confused, because why exactly is she in Dahyun’s bed? She doesn't remember much from last night, except from the screams after her big reveal, and Dahyun walking out with Momo...She doesn't want to remember much anymore. She simply stands up, her head pounding, and takes little penguin steps down the cream carpeted stairs.

She looks at the coffee table, and it's now clean, with the exception of a single empty bottle of soju in the centre, laying down, pointing at Mina. She feels threatened because of this pointing finger, and decides to turn away, ignoring the imaginary pressure that's mounting on her. 

The kitchen looks neat, and it doesn't seem anything like Dahyun, because according to Mina, Dahyun is a 'hoarder', whether it comes to object, people, or food. Dahyun keeps anything that looks nice, and she even remembers a petal from a flower Mina gave to her five years ago in her favourite book, ' **Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief** ' (which Mina recommended to her, duh). Dahyun also hoarded memories, because from what Mina can recall ten years back, Dahyun can recall fifteen. 

Whilst Mina's impressed with Dahyun's skill and supposed high IQ, she's also confused as to how the kitchen looks like it was renovated yesterday.

The landline rings, and Mina’s head is still pounding, so she runs over to the phone where she hears Dahyun’s laugh. “Morning unnie.” Dahyun seems to chuckle, the sound of the school bell ringing in the background. “I told the school you were sick today, so just rest at my house. I’ll be back around noon because Professor Hwang isn’t here, so just take some medicine in the cabinet. You know where it is.”

”Ah.” Mina pauses, and purses her lips. “Thanks, Hyun.” It’s as if Mina can see Dahyun’s smile behind the phone, and a muffled sound (Mina assumes it’s Momo) telling Dahyun to get into class or she’ll be late. 

“Anyways, I’ll be off. You know how Mrs Yang hates it when we’re late, so-”

“Actually, Hyun.” Mina stops Dahyun, and she isn’t actually sure what she’s doing, but her head hurts and she needs fresh air and the only way to do that is to go outside. “I’ll come to school today.”

There’s a small bout of silence, and Mina doesn’t hear any response from the other side of the phone, with the only bit of sound being the sound of students laughing and the sound of sneakers hitting the ground. 

Mina doesn’t understand this silence. It’s not awkward, but it’s tense. It’s like Dahyun wants to say something but she just can’t get the words out of her mouth.

So Mina waits for a while.

“ _Unnie, I don’t think that’s a good idea._ ” Dahyun finally says something, and Mina hears a gulp. “The thing about you dating Nayeon has gone around. I think it’s best to stay...”

Mina doesn’t hear much of what Dahyun has said, but she knows she needs to set things straight. “I’m going, Hyun. Don’t stop me today.” She hears a sigh, and then an “okay”, and she finally puts down the phone, and she heads over to her house to get ready.

-

The corridors are quiet when Mina arrives, and the only sound is the sloshing of the mop against the granite floor. She makes her way to the business class, and the minute she steps in the room, all eyes are on her.

It’s not that Mina hates the attention...she just doesn’t love it either.

“ _She’s dating Nayeon?” “Wow, Nayeon’s got high standards.” “I swear Nayeon was dating Yoo Jeongyeon!” “What about that girl? Dahyun?” “I don’t blame Nayeon for choosing her, she’s gorgeous.”_

Mina hears the whispers throughout the class and chooses to sit at the empty seat at the front. The teacher heeds no attention to her absence and continues on talking about how to start a business as a partnership. 

The time doesn’t pass fast enough, and Mina’s headache isn’t making it any better.

Worse enough, she doesn’t remember anything past the time Dahyun left the room.

Who knows what mishap Mina was up to in that time?

Luckily for Mina, the bell rings, and the first thing she does is dash out of the class before she’s interrogated by anyone. Unluckily for her, though, Nayeon’s waiting outside her class. 

Down the corridor, Mina sees a familiar face. The blonde haired, sunshine girl is making her way out of cooking class, along with Son Chaeyoung, and Mina doesn’t know what the hell she’s thinking. The next thing she knows, she’s grabbing Nayeon’s wrist. 

Mina’s never ran this fast in her life.

Her ankle is still hurting, sure, but all of that doesn’t matter.

The eyes of the students are on her and Nayeon, and the adrenaline is rising through Mina’s stiff and sore body. 

Soon enough, Mina turns to an empty corridor, and stops there, breathing in and out heavily, panting her way through a few puzzle pieces of words.

“Mina-” Nayeon starts, but Mina holds her hand up to stop her. The older girl nods and waits for Mina to catch her breath. 

“We. Need. To. Talk,” Mina finally spits out, and she knows that Nayeon is raising her eyebrow (because who wouldn’t, after being dragged throughout the entirety of the school building?). “-About us.”

Nayeon nods again. “Yeah, I need to ask you something too.”

Mina feels a bit nervous, because she knows how unpredictable Nayeon is, and she doesn’t want to be pressured into answering Nayeon straight away, but what can she do?

”Do you wanna go out with me?”

-

Mina’s sitting in front of Dahyun, and the two are basking in the silence. Dahyun wants to say something, and Mina wants to say something as well, but the two just don’t know how to talk again.

“So-” They both say simultaneously, and break out into laughter within the small barbecue restaurant. “You go first.” More fits of laughter ensue, and the two don’t care if all eyes are on them. 

“You first unnie.” Dahyun rushes, and Mina smiles dearly at her. 

“How are you, Dubu?”

 _Dubu_. Dahyun hasn’t heard that in a long time. It’s been what...? Two weeks - more or less - that the two have spoken(with the exception of last night). She gives a smile back. “I’m good unnie. Now that you’re here with me.”

Mina’s face heats up in that second, and she laughs it off. “Aw, sweet Hyunnie.” She gives an awkward (?) laugh before looking at the food that is now being set on the table. “I mean, how’s school and all. You know, _the usual_?”

Dahyun shrugs before starting up the fire, and puts the first strip of beef onto the fryer. The sound of the sizzle makes Dahyun’s stomach rumble, and she looks up to see Mina simply gazing ahead. 

“It’s uh... _It’s good_. Chaeyoung doesn’t stop talking about Tzuyu at all. Not even a little bit.” Dahyun licks her lips as she continues on frying it. “And Jackson oppa keeps asking me about you.”

”Me?”

”Yeah. Keeps on saying, ‘where’s your girlfriend’, over and over again. I have to keep on telling him there’s nothing between us.” Dahyun talks chalantly, not even noticing the sombre expression on her unnie’s face. “But...” Dahyun looks up at Mina, who immediately switches up to smile again. “Sometimes I play along.”

”Play... _along_?” 

Dahyun doesn’t hear what Mina says over the laugh of some football team on the table behind them, and Mina takes over for the cooking. The younger begins to ramble on about how everyone think they’re dating, but now that Mina’s dating Nayeon, she doesn’t have to tell people that anymore.

Mina doesn’t have the appetite to eat. 

She stares at the food, and picks it up one by one, placing it into Dahyun’s bowl.

Dahyun raises her eyebrow at the pieces of meat, and looks up at Mina, whose face is blank.

”You’re not going to eat, unnie?” Dahyun asks, with a reply that comes in the form of a shake of her head. But then again, Dahyun doesn’t take no for an answer.

She picks up a piece of meat and quickly stuffs it into Mina’s agape mouth, before the latter can even protest, and Dahyun responds with laughter.

”Phryew!” Mina can’t even talk, and Dahyun’s laughter grows bigger and bigger. “Ypoi!” 

“Can’t hear you unnie! I think you’re really enjoying that food-”

Dahyun is now kneeling on karma’s doorstep, as Mina literally whacks a huge lettuce wrap into Dahyun’s mouth. Mina lets out a huge victory smirk as Dahyun literally chokes on her food, and gulps down a huge cup of water. 

“ _You almost killed me._ ”

”Serves you right.”

”Murderer.”

” _Attempted_ murderer.”

The two battle it down with a staring competition, with which Dahyun wins (unsurprisingly), and Dahyun basks in her glory as she gets Mina to eat. 

In that moment, Mina forgets everything, and all she can see is Dahyun. 

Dahyun, Dahyun, Dahyun-

“Unnie.” Dahyun interrupts Mina’s train of ~~Dahyun~~ thought and her face becomes serious. “You’ve been practicing A Whole New World, right?”

”Dahyun.” Mina sternly replies, “It’s only been a day since I started actually playing the piece. I last played it with you in the music room.” Dahyun sits back and shrugs.

”Well, you should practice more.” 

”Dubu!” Mina begins to make another wrap, for herself she says, and finishes it off by topping it with a garnish.

”I’m just saying, unnie. You can never be too assured that you’ll play fine, child prodigy or not.”

Mina sighs and stuffs another lettuce wrap into Dahyun’s mouth to shut her up, and the younger one immediately gets the memo. “You remind me of Kaori.”

”...Mmh?” Dahyun’s cheeks puff up. “Kar-boh-ri?”

”Yeah. You keep nagging me to practice.” Mina deadpans, picking up a piece of meat to put in the lettuce. 

“You know,” Dahyun gulps down her food after some seconds of chewing. “That doesn’t make much sense.”

”How so?”

”You play the violin, and I play the piano.” 

Mina looks up, confused. “Okay. And?”

”If we’re talking about cosplay or whatever: you’re like Kaori, and I’m your Arima.” Dahyun doesn’t even think twice, and laughs at the shocked look on Mina’s face. 

Dahyun knows what’s going to come next.

”ARE YOU SAYING I’M GONNA DIE?!” Mina screams, but it’s more of a squeak, and Dahyun breaks out into laughter. Dahyun can’t even sit upright, and she feels like her appendix is going to burst with all the laughter she’s had in the past few minutes. 

Mina continues on rambling about ‘ _how she’s too young to die_ ’, and how they were 14 when the whole story happened, and how “ _I’m 22 now I shouldn’t be dying!_ ” to which Dahyun responds with, “ _Life is short, Unnie_ ”, and Mina replies back with another lettuce wrap in Dahyun’s mouth - something the latter could have avoided, but chose not to. 

Their little session ends with them fighting over who gets to pay (spoiler alert: Mina loses), and a trip to Mina’s house.

Dahyun hasn’t been to Mina’s house since the Tonkatsu event, but it doesn’t feel as awkward as Dahyun thought it would be.

Everything was still the same as it always had been. 

Everything seemed right.

”So what do you wanna watch?”

Without even having to say it, Mina nodded and headed to the living room to put their movie in the DVD player. Dahyun put her coat on the rack and made her way to the grey sofa, fitting in nicely within her little spot. _It’s still the same as ever,_ Dahyun grins, and Mina switches off the lights to get into their little homemade cinema.

Halfway through the movie, Dahyun turns to look at Mina, who’s practically falling asleep. She laughs softly to herself, and quietly creeps to Mina’s room to get a blanket to wrap the Japanese girl with. 

On Mina’s desk, Dahyun spots a small note. 

It’s written in a mixture of Japanese and Korean, and whilst Dahyun wasn’t one to pry into other people’s businesses, she was just a little bit curious of what was on this note.

> To Dahyun- ~~chan~~ ie
> 
> I’m sorry. 
> 
> Please forgive me.
> 
> I love you always.
> 
> I shouldn’t have

And the note ended there, and the eagle-eyed girl places it down in it’s original spot and says nothing. Not like there was much to be said anyways.

Dahyun makes her way back downstairs where Mina is still sound asleep, and begins to wrap her up in the grey blanket from her bed. 

“Don’t...” Mina mumbles. Dahyun raises her eyebrow. 

“Don’t what?”

”Don’t...” Mina murmurs, still asleep. “Don’t leave me Dahyunnie.” 

Dahyun stands in silence as the background noise of the mob attacking Mia plays, and she clenches her fist.

”I won’t leave you, Mina unnie.” Dahyun kisses Mina on the forehead. “I love you, unnie.”

* * *

Mina’s head has been pounding for the past few days. 

Whilst her schedule has slightly gone back to normal (with a few little glitches in the matrix), she can’t come to terms with the fact that people keep questioning her about Nayeon. 

She’s come to the point where she simply ignores them, and whilst there aren’t much people asking now, the same questions keep ringing in her mind, over and over again. 

“Are you alright?” Nayeon approaches Mina, and she nods. “I’ll take you home later, okay?”

Mina shakes her head, telling her that it’s fine; but just like Dahyun, Nayeon doesn’t take no for an answer. 

“You know...you don’t have to.” Mina feels slightly guilty for taking up her time, and rubs the nape of her neck, wincing every millisecond because of the pain.

“It’s fine. I want to.” Nayeon smiles and pats Mina’s back before heading off. 

Mina sighs and turns around, only to meet the eyes of Park Jihyo. “Couple problems?” 

The younger girl shrugs. “I don’t even know if you can call it that.”

”How so?” Jihyo raises her eyebrow and crosses her arms, her typical ‘ _Vice-president of the school’_ stance. “You two are dating right?”

“Well...yeah.” Mina hesitates, and the bell saves her in the nick of time. Jihyo watches as Mina runs off (her ankle fully healed), and rubs her temples. 

-

Nayeon drives up to the front of Mina’s house and drops the girl off. It’s as if Nayeon hasn’t been herself lately, and she drives off after saying a weak goodbye to Mina. 

The Japanese girl begins to open the gate, but stops.

 _My keycard_. 

Her head is killing her, but so are her legs, and she doesn’t have the strength to run after Nayeon’s car.

Everything she has is in her bag, which is tucked neatly underneath the passengers seat at the front.

”I can’t do this anymore.” Mina cries, and she doesn’t even have tablets that she can take to soothe the pain. 

Luckily enough, Dahyun’s there. 

Dahyun’s always there.

The minute Nayeon’s car leaves, Dahyun gets on her pyjamas and heads out to where Mina is. 

But Mina’s crying.

Dahyun doesn’t like to see Mina cry. 

“Unnie-”

”I feel so sick, Hyun.” Mina says between sobs. _“I can’t do this anymore_.” 

“Yes you can.” Dahyun firmly tells her, and pulls Mina up, wrapping the older’s arm around her shoulder. 

Sure, the height difference makes it a bit difficult for Mina’s normally straight posture, but Mina’s already in immense pain and can’t even think straight.

Dahyun tucks Mina into her bed, full of stuffed toys, and allows Mina to rest while she gets some medicine and a cold towel. Mina’s forehead is burning, and her eyes flutter open every now and then, but Dahyun’s always there, holding Mina’s hand. 

Soon enough, the groans and the whimpers stop, and Mina seems at peace. 

Dahyun stands up and kisses Mina’s forehead, not letting go of her hand.

”Next time, don’t overwork yourself, unnie.” Dahyun laughs. “Get well soon.”

She heads out of the room and switches off the light, allowing Mina to get a well-deserved sleep. 

“Does Nayeon know her girlfriend is sick?” Dahyun suddenly wonders, and takes out her phone to text her. 

**Kim Dahyun [19:34]**  
Hey Nayeon unnie.

**Im Nayeon [19:35]**  
Hey?

This is Kim Dahyun, right?

**Kim Dahyun [19:35]**  
Yeah. Uh, I just wanted to tell you that your girlfriend’s sick.

**Im Nayeon [19:37]**  
Girlfriend?

_Yeah, girlfriend. Who else?_

**Kim Dahyun [19:38]**  
yeah

**Im Nayeon [19:39]**  
Ohhhhhh 

you mean mina?

**Kim Dahyun [19:40]**  
yup. 

**Im Nayeon [19:43]**  
uh well i’ll come by in the morning to check on her.

please take good care of her for tonight.

Dahyun closes her phone and shakes it off. Why did Nayeon seem so confused? Well, it wasn’t Dahyun’s part to pry into other people’s business. 

But what was this odd feeling?

* * *

“ _Do you wanna go out with me?”_

_Mina fumbled with her fingers, and didn’t even flinch with the given question. Nayeon nodded her head to clear the simmering awkwardness, and coughed to clear her throat._

_”Nayeon-”_

_”Don’t say it.” Nayeon gave a weak smile. “I already know it.”_

_Know what? Mina thought in her head. Ah. That._

_”It’s Dahyun you like, isn’t it? I kinda already knew from the start.” Nayeon gave a really weak laugh, a laugh which showed defeat._

_Mina nodded and gulped. “I’m so sorry that I can’t feel the same way. I really thought I could trick myself into catching feelings for someone else but...in the end-”_

_”It’ll always be Dahyun. I know.” Nayeon gives gentle pats on Mina’s head before looking at the clock. “I’ll always be here if you need me though.”_

_Mina doesn’t even know what to say._

_She feels guilty for making Nayeon feel this way, but when the heart wants something...it just won’t stop until you get it._

_Mina breaks down into tears, and Nayeon brings her in for a hug, one last one before she has to let her go._

_Because Nayeon’s always loved Mina, but Mina’s heart was for someone else._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I saw someone post my au on twitter and it made me really happy hahah


End file.
